I love a festival. I have a decrepit egg-yellow campervan exactly like the one in Little Miss Sunshine, with an equally nonchalent attitude to starting and stopping. But it has kept me warm and dry on many a stormy night as tents all round sank slowly into the mire.
This summer, festival-goers are being accosted by welly-wearing academics - like Andrew Bengry-Howell from Bath University - trying to find out what's so great about mud, music and veggie breakfasts.
The happy campers are telling Bengry-Howell they come for a sense of release from unsatisfying jobs and feelings of failure. He says:
"I'm interested in this idea about festivals being where people go to experience a kind of freedom, and that they feel so restricted even though we now have more freedoms than ever."
More education news from the Guardian
• Two schools. Same results. How does one get many more pupils into "top" universities than the other? Rachel Williams sets out to discover their secrets.
• Stonewall's gay university guide: this year four universities get top marks for gay-friendliness. Any guesses?
• Michael Gove's replacement for the scrapped EMA is a "rushed and ill-thought-through" reform that was unveiled too late for teenagers making decisions about study in September, says a committee of MPs. @andyburnhammp calls it "a damning end-of-term report for Gove".
• Dolly Parton's reading scheme is transforming literacy in Rotherham, and beyond. But why does the country star send free books to this country?
"My dad didn't learn to read or write because he was born into a very large family and they had to go out and work in the fields to make money. My dad felt crippled by that - so I thought this book scheme would be a wonderful tribute to him."
• Why has an MP's apprentice been denied a place at university? Jan Murray discovers that apprenticeships are just not taken seriously
• While state universities are struggling in the US, the private sector is thriving, economist Morton Schapiro tells Jeevan Vasagar.
• Teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds face going through the post-exams clearing process without crucial advice about securing a university place because of cuts to the Connexions service, experts warn.
Guardian views
• Mike Baker How is the government doing on social mobility? Unfortunately the negatives outweigh the positives.
• Lord Hunt and Trevor Fisher Don't exempt any schools from Ofsted inspections - even the best schools can slip.
• Andrew Thomson What exactly is a dead-end course - and why is the term so often applied to vocational programmes?
Research revelations
George Washington liked to count stuff, the Improbable Researchers tell us. Like what? Horses, knives, spades, dead soldiers, bushels of wheat, nuts. No, he counted nuts.
On the Guardian Teacher Network
To celebrate the 21st British festival of archaeology we have activities from the bizarre - mummifying an orange - to the more practical - making a nosegay to ward off illness and disease as they did in medieval times (handy for tube and bus journeys).
Education news from around the web
• The government has embraced the Bew report and accepted that teacher assessment should play a bigger role in Sats tests. @warwickmansell has blogged on the union response, which has been surprisingly varied.
• School reports could be on their way out - if the government's transparency director Tim Kelsey has his way. The Telegraph quotes him as saying:
"We don't want to have schools spending money on printing school reports nor do we want to have doctors sending out referral letters. That can be done online."
• Private school headteachers are trying to convince us that boys are being left behind in mixed sex schools. But is this so? Francis Gilbert (@wonderfrancis) asks:
"I don't think I benefited from attending an all-boys' school as a teenager and I certainly think that the pupils I've taught in single-sex schools have missed out on interacting with the opposite sex in a variety of situations. It's not just about results, it's about socialisation as well; segregating the sexes is not going help men and women get along."
• How much would it cost to send your child to Hogwarts? Thanks to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania (and the Mail), we know you'd have to shell out more than £26,000 to send a single child there for a year, based on the cost of wands, cloaks and broomsticks on Amazon.
Tell the Guardian about your school's A-level and GCSE achievements
The Guardian would like to highlight your pupils' GCSE and A-level success this summer. We are asking schools to respond to a few quick questions about their pupils' results as soon as you receive them - on 18 August for A-levels and 25 August for GCSEs. Please take a note of the following web pages and return to them to fill in your results on those days:
We want to tell our readers how well your pupils have performed and are looking forward to mapping the success of young people across the country.
Education seminars from Guardian Professional
This seminar will provide independent advice and information on framing a research proposal, the process and pitfalls of a research degree and career prospects.
9 September, London.
Making the most of media opportunities to enhance your school's profile
Whether it's sharing good news or handling a crisis, headteachers and school management teams need to be able to handle the media in all of its forms. This one-day seminar in association with the NAHT is essential for new and aspiring heads as well as established school leaders who wish to update their knowledge. It includes a session on social media.
20 September, London.
Using social media to enhance the student experience
As tuition fees rise, so too do student expectations. Social media is an effective, low-cost way to manage this challenge. This seminar will explore newly conceived best practice, techniques and strategy for all higher education staff: academic, communications, recruitment, marketing and strategy.
22 September, London.
Whether it's getting published, convincing an employer that you have transferable skills, or securing an academic post, you need to be fully prepared to achieve your goals. This course will help you identify career opportunities for those with research skills and specialist knowledge.
4-5 October, London.
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